


Call Your Name

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon, Angst, Canonverse AU, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, I'll add more tags if I continue this, M/M, Some random Garrison dudes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-12
Updated: 2015-09-12
Packaged: 2018-04-20 06:40:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4777316
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the success of retaking Historia and Eren from the underground crystalized cavern,  saving them  from Rod Reiss, the Survey Corps set down to plan their next step.<br/>The successful mission they just went through won’t last long. They are not aware of the abyss inside Eren, who leaves them behind without a trace, off to seal his fate on his own. However, his escape doesn’t go fully unnoticed…  [Eremin, Canon verse AU that takes place after the events of Chapter 66.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Call Your Name

**Author's Note:**

> Hello and thank you for stopping by!  
> This is my first fanfic and there are a few things I would like to explain before you read.  
> First off, **English is not my native language** so I apologize for any possible writing errors in this chapter. This is translated from an ongoing RP between a dear friend and I, and if I decide to continue the fanfic version it is going to be very long! (it depends on if people find it interesting as it’s a lot of effort to translate into english)  
>  At the moment I publish this chapter, the RP is currently more than 45,000 words and there’s no ending in sight! However, the skeleton of the remaining story is planned.  
> I would also like to state that the Eremin buildup will be quite slow as well, even though Armin already has the feelings~ And there will be angst, so much angst...  
> [and of course, if you’re not caught up to the manga, or at least chapter 66, this will be very spoiler heavy…]  
> Thank you!

The sound of hooves echoed through the air, the source to this was the strong horses that carried the tired soldiers.  
The fight was finally over, although it had costed them dearly. During the fight, lady luck’s presence was clearly visible, but despite this one of the soldiers was wounded as a result of the mission.  
Hanji was still unconscious as they kept on riding their horses that Erwin led, along with other members of the Survey Corps and the two corporations, Garrison and the Military Police. They had met up with the Survey Corps not too far away from the location of the cavern, shortly after their escape. 

The degree of the fight in the unbelievable large crystalized cavern turned out to be rather high. The cavern was covered with a kind of crystal that was familiar to them all due to past experiences, and the fight would never leave their memories. Most of them have dirtied their hands forever. There was no turning back, only to keep on moving forward. Keep on moving until they would reach their destination, where their temporary camp is located.

As luck continued to have a strong grip over the group, the fight turned out to be a success even though it was intense. They had successfully reached the mission’s goal – to retake Eren and Historia before Rod Reiss along with Kenny and his men managed to do something terrible to them.  
With Mikasa and Levi closely behind, they managed to get inside the underground cavern and break Eren free. Rod tried to stop them by forcing Historia to do something she did not wish to fulfill. She ended up tossing away the needle, which caused it to break and the content inside to be spilled and absorbed by the ground. Moments later she hit Rod which made him fall to the ground, get hit by a rock and end up unconscious.  
Kenny’s laughter spread in the walls of the cavern as he stated he determined a show. Just as the Survey Corps arrived Kenny saw his chance and took off with his men as they escaped through a secret passage along with the unconscious Rod, carried by a few of his men.

Historia had seen her chance and sprinted over to Eren, struggling to set him free, but unable to unlock all the chains and locks that held on to him. It wasn’t until the others arrived they managed to set him free. With no explanation Levi had given the order to evacuate the cave. He knew they didn’t have the time to remain there, they had to get back to Armin and Hanji and await help from Erwin and the others. 

As they were on their way to reach their camp, they knew they had to plan their next step. Meanwhile they were traveling both Eren and Historia were quiet. Not a single word left them, only a small nod by Historia when asked if she was alright. Eren remained quiet as he sat on the horse ridden by Jean.  
Due to the majority being so tired, they did not have the desire to talk, so there was barely any talk at all. The only audible talk that could be heard was Levi and Erwin that were riding in the lead. It wasn’t until afternoon they reached their camp where a larger amount of members from the Survey Corps, Garrison and the Military Police were awaiting their arrival.

As they all got off their horses the soldiers were directed to different tents. Eren and Historia were directed to a specific tent but Erwin, Nile and Pixis realized that they would not get their answers this evening.  
‘’Be sure to rest, you’ve gone through a lot. Tomorrow I wish to speak to you both.’’ Erwin said and raised his eyebrows as Historia and Eren were brought out of the tent, as they later were given their own separate tent to spend the night.

It had been complicated to estimate how fateful Hanji’s injury was after they violently was thrown away after being hit by the hook launched by one of Kenny’s men, and even harder to judge its potential consequences.  
After an order given by Corporal Levi, Armin had immediately stayed by their side while the other Survey Corps members continued towards their goal.

Hanji were bleeding from their shoulder and Armin barely managed to stop the bleeding by pulling off fabric pieces of Hanji’s uniform and tie them over their shoulder. When colliding with the ground they immediately went unconscious although they were alive and as their bleeding stabilized, their condition remained stable during their trip to their camp. 

Upon arrival Hanji received medical attention by people within the different corporations that had knowledge and experiences about medical aspects and treating wounded people. However, it turned out to be out of their competence and Hanji was later forwarded to get more professional treatment in Stohess. 

The atmosphere of the camp continued to be quiet. It was even quiet from the leader’s side. Only faint mumbling could be heard in the distance. 

Armin felt the need to find an explanation of what exactly happened when his comrades managed to rescue both Eren and Historia from the cavern. He wanted to know how they were rescued, and what happened to Rod Reiss, Kenny and all his men.  
He wandered through the camp, looking for a comrade that had the time and possibility to give him the answers to his questions.  
Wherever he went, it appeared he couldn’t find anyone who held the answers. They were in the middle of organizing and setting up the soldiers for the night and what their tasks would be, so they were busy.  
Eren and Historia were nowhere so be seen, at last a guard from Garrison told Armin they were resting and did not wish to be disturbed. 

Armin was not surprised by what the Garrison guard told him, regarding that Eren and Historia needed to rest. It was more or less expected. Armin’s wish was to visit Eren as soon as possible to check on how he was doing, but he knew he had to follow the rules and besides, he was unaware of the location of Eren’s tent. Whatever that had occurred in the cavern, it must have been upsetting and nerve-wracking for them. Armin had to wait for a new order at another time when it was acceptable to visit Eren. 

Moments later, Armin felt a presence behind him followed by a hand on his shoulder as he heard the well familiar voice. ‘’Armin…?’’ there she was, Mikasa, fiddling with her red scarf with her dark, grey eyes watching him. ‘’How are you feeling…?’’ she asked with a frown decorating her face. She looked like she was in need of sleep.  
Armin turned around and observed Mikasa. Aside from being tired, which they all were, she looked down other than just being tired.  
Still separated, the three of them – even days after the last time they saw each other. Mikasa was always so much colder whenever Eren was not present, and she distanced herself from the others if she was able to.  
Hopefully she’d return to become warmer now when they’ve rescued Eren from a terrible fate that he could have met in the crystalized cavern.  
She had been outside the tent were Eren was located but she realized this was not a good time to visit him. How much she wanted to see him, she had to wait. Rules would never get in the way for her to see Eren but right now, she obeyed them.

Eren’s expression caused them to go confused when they, together with Historia, tried to free him. During this time he, with tears in his eyes, begged them to leave him there - in the shape of screams of desperation, and that everything was his fault. Nobody knew what Eren was talking about and they couldn’t understand why he was shouting this.

‘’Mikasa…’’ Armin replied in a quiet tone, followed by a sigh. ‘’How I am feeling?’’ he lightly shook his head. ‘’I’m so tired. However, I heard that Hanji’s condition is stable and under control. They believe Hanji will be fine after recovery and that the risk of receiving permanent injuries is slim if they’re lucky, despite that they were forwarded to Stohess.’’ The very same Garrison solider Armin stumbled upon earlier also mentioned this to him. Armin let his feet lead him closer to Mikasa as he inspected her closer with a worry in his eyes. ‘’How are you doing?’’

Not too far away from the two childhood friends stood, a campfire had been created, located where the soldiers could have a meal. Soup, bread and water were served to those who needed to silent their hunger.  
It turned out to be rather strange for the majority of the soldiers, who had spent weeks being away from so many people, and now they had the chance to sit down, relax and eat with those who were once their enemies, The Military Police.  
Erwin’s and Pixis’ plan worked out and they had exposed the fake King and as a result the noble people were greatly affected. Nick decided to join Erwin as he realized what a mistake it was and that they’ve been living a lie for so many years. 

Mikasa nodded slowly and pulled down her scarf that covered a large part of her face.  
‘’Mhm, it’s been so much going on these days. We need to regain our energy. I’m feeling fine…’’ a typical and normal answer that can be expected from Mikasa.  
‘’However, I believe Sasha, Connie and Jean are not feeling well.’’ Her eyes fell back on Armin.  
The three of them had also dirtied their hands against their will as they had to fight for their lives against Kenny’s men.  
Mikasa would never doubt when it involved a stranger’s life, in order to reach their goal and free Eren and Historia.  
All of them were spotted with human blood and there was no way to erase this fact. ‘’Armin…’’ Mikasa started but went silent, she took a deep breath as she mentally searched for the right words. ’’Eren… will need us.’’ She did not know what happened, what information Eren possessed but the way he screamed with tears in his eyes caused her to become nervous.

Armin’s eyes fell to the ground as he nervously bit his under lip. A solemn feeling spread in his body over the fact that Jean, Sasha and Connie also dirtied their hands with human blood. Armin had been unable to see any of them since they arrived to their camp and he knew exactly what they were going through at this time, how they must feel.  
It made Armin think of what he had to do recently, even though he made that decision in order to save Jean’s life.  
The thought of that unpleasant memory made him shiver and feel uneasy. What all of them went through was horrible but there was no use is thinking too much of it, they had to keep their chins up and look forward, no matter how complicated it could be to climb up from the inner shadows. 

Armin’s thoughts were abruptly interrupted when Mikasa mentioned Eren’s name, which Armin reacted to by moving back a few steps. It made his irises shrink. His right arm was hanging down while the left one covered his upper arm, he felt his shoulders droop. ‘’Mikasa, what…’’ Armin paused for a moment before he gained the strength to continue. ‘’What really happened in the cavern?’’  
He knew it was a risk to ask her so early since she appeared to be shaken from the events despite that she claimed to be feeling fine, but he needed to know. 

She understood that Armin wanted to know as it seemed like he had not spoken to the others about this. Armin and Eren had knew each other since they were seven years old and always been best friends. Despite this, Mikasa suspected that Armin felt something more for the brunet. She decided not confront any of them about this, in case her suspicion turned out to be incorrect. By seeing how Armin’s worry grew it made her heart ache over what she was about to tell him. 

‘’I do not know all the details, that is something Eren and Historia have to tell us once they’ve rested.’’ She did not lower her gaze but kept on looking at him. ‘’Like the event in the courthouse, Eren was chained. But this time, it was much more brutal. They had chained his arms so he was left in a sitting position with his arms in hanging in the air.  
His legs and waist were bound in a bunch of locks, which made it impossible for him to move. His hands were also bandaged, probably to decrease his time to be able to successfully transform into a Titan if he somehow ended up breaking free.  
But what makes us surprised is that he appeared to have his forehead cut. Whoever did so, we have no idea, but I believe it might have been Historia. She was next to Eren when we got there. She was screaming something I interpreted as ‘you’re not going to kill me’ as Rod was found lying unconscious on the ground. If he was dead or alive it’s hard to tell. We don’t know.’’ She went quiet and had to gather her thoughts and rethink of the scene in her head.

‘’Whatever happened, it was something that affected both Eren and Historia.’’ Her eyebrows raised in surprise. A strange thing she recalled was that Historia wore different clothing than the clothes she was wearing at the time she and Eren were kidnapped.  
‘’I believe they were trying to sacrifice Eren, just like Hanji suggested earlier, but there were no signs of Rod hiding a Titan down there.’’ With those words, she ended her explanation, still missing a lot of pieces, but she had hopes that Eren and Historia possessed those so they could complete the picture. 

It was like time slowed time and eventually stopped for a while, and everything slowed down to become motionless except for Mikasa. The more she explained to him, the more Armin felt himself go pale. 

After a while he did not have the strength to look her into the eyes anymore so instead he quickly turned away his gaze in another direction. He felt tears sting in the corner of his eyes as his breathing became heavy and he ended up wrapping his arms around himself.  
Armin was overwhelmed by the information he had been given, almost as if he wished he never should have asked at all. His heart beat faster while he tried to process all information. He realized they must have arrived just in time and saved Eren and Historia before something awful was about to occur.  
If their intention was to sacrifice Eren, like what Hanji’s theory consisted of, despite there being no titan at that time, who would it be for, why and for what purpose?  
Armin was taken aback that Eren’s forehead had apparently been cut. 

The possibility for this could be that they somehow had intensions to transform Eren into his Titan form, despite him having bandaged hands, unless it could have been a part of the sacrifice ritual, if that particular theory was proven to be true.  
If their intention was to transform him – it was safe to say that Eren didn’t own the will and power to fight back as they’ve cut him. It made Armin’s heart sink since at that time Eren was in such a vulnerable position where he usually would have defended himself. 

Eventually Armin’s nerves calmed down and after having to blink away his tears, he managed to look at Mikasa again, although with a pale face and murky eyes. He wasn’t sure what exactly he should say, it was much too early to come up with a possible explanation to Eren’s situation. Yet, he still couldn’t stop his brain from thinking of what may have happened to Rod, whatever he was dead or alive.  
‘’That was…’’ Armin paused, swallowing hard, with his arms still wrapped around himself. ‘’We need to find out the reason behind all of this.’’ It was the only appropriate thing he could think of in his current state of shock. His thoughts traveled over to Eren, thinking of he must be feeling in this very moment, the surface of this thought made Armin nauseous. 

Mikasa noticed how quickly Armin’s face went pale. ‘’Eren is safe now, it will be fine.’’ She placed her hand on his shoulder again, gently squeezing it. Mikasa knew they’ve gone through much worse situations than this one. Yet, she did not mention how Eren behaved when they managed to rescue him. Mikasa knew they would be finding out the answers to their worries as soon as they got to see their friend again, even though she could not deny her growing worry as well. 

‘’You should go and eat something, Armin. These days really have drained our energy, you know.’’ She mumbled as she flipped her hair with her other hand. She wondered over what the next step would be, most likely to discover what important information Eren and Historia learned from Rod Reiss.

\---

Not too far away, Eren was alone in one of the tents. He hadn’t laid a finger on the food that a member of the Survey Corps served to him earlier. It stood there, cold and untouched.  
He did not have the strength to eat, since he lacked the desire. The thought of food made him nauseous. He was sitting on the bed, face pale as a white sheet.  
Pictures, never ending pictures, flooded his mind. Pictures whose existence he never knew about until now.  
Everything was gone, nothing matters anymore. How was he ever supposed to look in the eyes of his comrades and friends ever again? He was not Humanity’s Hope, as everybody thought him to be. He was something that never should have existed from the start. If his existence wasn’t there, none of this would ever have happened.  
So many deaths, all of them on weighted on his shoulders. All of which is his fault. 

Eren pulled up his knees as he sat down, leaning his head to rest against his knees, only to find out more steam streamed up from his forehead. ‘’No…stop!’’ the panic and fear drove him by instinct to hit his hand against his forehead. He did not want to, he did not have the power to live with this guilt and just when he thought he was about to make things right once and for all.  
If just Historia or Rod would have eaten him and regained the power, everything would go back to be well again.  
They could have stopped all the deaths and nobody would ever give up their life for someone like him.  
‘’Why am I even alive…?’’

\--- 

‘’Yes, you’re correct Mikasa.’’ Armin agreed, accompanied by a small sigh.  
He turned away to face the direction where the campfire was, along with the food serving location. At this time he did not spot many people over there. The majority of them have probably been given orders or similar tasks. Strangely enough, Armin felt no hunger, even though he was feeling weak and was in need of energy.

His current condition was not improved due to him being so worried for Eren. There was something in the retelling of the event that bothered him, that Eren’s forehead had been cut. Armin knew he couldn’t dwell on this too much at this time, since Mikasa was right. Eren was in safety and close to them, so the answers were right ahead of them. Therefore it was a waste of energy and effort to speculate about the little information he gained.

Armin had tried so hard to mentally push away his emotional feelings for Eren over the course of about six months, an existence he denied for so long. His effort to deny his feelings only led him to accept it in the end, much to his own disapproval.  
Armin knew that there was a possibility and a risk that the feelings he had for Eren could influence his thoughts and strategies, which could lead him to make irrational decisions which in the end could be harmful or outright dangerous. He was also afraid someone could use his feelings for Eren and use it to their advantage, if the wrong person knew about it.  
He turned to face Mikasa one more time. ‘’Mhm. We should go and eat.’’ He said with a tired tone in his rvoice. 

\---  
All of them were unaware of what exactly had been told in the cavern. What the consequences of important information could lead. They learned new important information about the Titans that made it easier for them but at the same time difficult. Humanity had not gained this information in over a hundred years, yet there were so much that was missing.  
What is the origin of the Titans? What is their purpose? Are they aware of that they’re eating humans in hopes of eating a Titan Shifter? What is Eren’s purpose in all of this, and how did he gain his powers?

While Hanji held a lot of important information, they did share the information why everyone seems to need Eren but they said they wanted his Titan powers by making a mindless titan eat him in order to go back to become a human again.

According to Eren and Hanji, Ymir shared the information that she had been a mindless titan for more than sixty years. Does this mean they do not age during the time they spend in the Titan body? The mystery appeared to be never-ending but perhaps they had the chance to clear up any of these questions by Eren and Historia. 

Eren who was still alone to rest could not stop the flow of thoughts inside his head, the scenes of his father Grisha Jaeger, slaughtering the people, the royal family. He had been a Titan-shifter all along but never told it to anyone. ‘’Why…?’’ one of all the questions Eren thought of, but why did it matter, he was never going to find out. His father was dead, murdered, eaten just like his mother Carla. The thought made Eren lean forwards and vomit, but only bile, since he hadn’t eaten in days.  
‘’Did mom know about this…?’’ another question that weighted his heart and soul. Did she know that her husband could transform into a titan?  
‘’Why did it turn out like this? What makes you think I can handle this on my own?!’’ He cried out loud. 

\---

Mikasa and Armin had enjoyed and eaten their meal mostly in silence. A few words were exchanged between the two friends but their conversation lacked flow. The entire campfire section was dominated by silence so their mumbling did not contribute to the overall noise. 

Minutes later, as both of them walked away from the campfire location, the sun started to set which painted the sky red with strong influences of orange and yellow tones, blending together and creating a lovely sight for the eye to watch.  
Evening was approaching and it was around this time guarding positions were announced for the upcoming evening and night. 

Shortly after the two friends kept on walking, they stumbled upon another Garrison solider, with important information about guarding positions.  
He told them that Armin was one of the people that was chosen to be in guard position for the night, and that he had to guard two tents through the entire night in about two hours, which would be just at the time when night had fallen.

Armin nodded and accepted his mission, deep down all he wanted to do was to rest but he thought it was the right thing to hand over the mission to him instead of Mikasa, who had done a heroically input when she had been there to rescue Historia and Eren, and she deserved all the rest she could get.  
Mikasa waved good luck to Armin, as she walked away in the opposite direction. The last thing she said was that they would see each other the next day, with a faint smile on her lips. 

\---

There still was no information about either Eren or Historia yet. Erwin, Pixis and Nile were nowhere to be seen since they arrived to the camp. The chance of them having an important meeting was high and their priority was most likely to organize and structure their next step.  
A bunch of soldiers left the camp with horses and carriages, their mission was to search for Rod Reiss, Kenny Ackerman and the others who got away from the cavern. If they did not find any signs, they would return back to the camp at a later time.

Evening arrived and Eren had not moved at all. He was still sitting on the bed. Nothing helped to push away the pictures that were burrowed into his mind. How was he supposed to explain the power they need is stuck inside him, but that he’ll never be able to use it since it belongs to the Reiss family?  
If Historia just had taken the serum and transformed into the strongest Titan, it would have been the answer to everything. ‘’Everything would be restored. All these people that died for me would still have been alive! If I just didn’t have this burden inside me...’’  
He was afraid, afraid of what they would think of him. He was already a monster, but their discovery was something that distinguished him from a regular titan. The difference that was once there was broken and it no longer existed. It had never been there at all, he was just like any ordinary mindless titan.  
How was he supposed to look at Armin and especially Mikasa again? Grisha was the man that gave her a new family, a new chance to start over her life, and now – Eren had murdered that part of their own family.  
‘’I….I need to leave.’’ He said under his breath. Historia decided not to eat him and she wouldn’t do that now either. Eren had to leave, now.  
‘’I’ll leave, and I’ll find Rod. He can eat me and save humanity.’’ The plan of escaping while the majority of the soldiers were asleep started to bloom in his head. 

\---

Two and half hours passed since Armin last saw Mikasa. Darkness had made its entrance to the field and the only thing one could see as a sign of last pieces of daylight was a thin line consisting of a navy blue shade above the horizon. A few sparkly stars could be seen at the highest point of the sky along with a half-moon, shedding a pale light over the fields. 

During these two hours, Armin noticed that a bunch of soldiers left in the direction where they arrived.  
Proof that there was an intense job going on, Armin realized it would probably be much work to occur throughout the night since it was still unclear where the higher positioned leaders were. 

With his back steady and straight, and a weapon in his hands, Armin observed the surroundings closely. Majority of the camp was covered with a veil of silence, as most of them were asleep at this time. The only thing that could be heard was faint, unidentifiable mumbling spoken by other night guards, completed by the sound of buzzing insects from the adjacent bushes, trees and plants. 

It was a slight challenge to remain alert and awake through the night, but if he was lucky someone would volunteer to switch positions so he could get a few hours’ sleep, although a feeling of doubt grew inside him and Armin had already mentally prepared himself not to expect anything, judging by the serenity. He loomed over to the two tents he guarded periodically and their current surroundings. He also watched everything that his sight allowed him too, in the current shadowed world. 

Eren realized there was not much he needed to bring along with him. All he needed was a knife, a water bottle and a few bandages, just in case. He left behind his sleeping bag, he did not need it. Lack of appetite would not stop him. It would be hard to acquire a 3D Maneuver Gear, but if that plan fell through – he could always steal a horse.  
Where would his fate lead him, since nobody knew the whereabouts of Rod and the others were hiding? It doesn’t matter. If his search would be difficult, so be it. He would search even if the process turned out to take forever.  
He got up from the bed, abandoning it as he walked towards the entrance of his tent. Before he grabbed his backpack, the last thing that caught his eye was the basement key.

During his kidnapping Levi had taken care of the key until now. It lay on the small, wooden table.  
His eyes rested on the golden key, before turning away from it. An inner voice told him to wear it, he could not resist its commands, thus grabbing it. It came to his senses that Eren may as well give it to Rod, before he would get eaten.  
‘’Yes, that’ll be fine.’’ He answered his own thought out loud. ‘’Whatever is in the basement, it will be for the benefit for Rod and it will help him.’’ He mumbled and observed the key as it rested in his palm. The pictures returned to his mind, like how a lightning hit a tree, just as he turned his gaze away from it, putting it on without looking at it. 

He was going to leave, without leaving a single trace, not even a small written note.  
‘’One day, you’ll understand. The day monsters like me won’t walk this earth.’’ A faint smile crept upon Eren’s lips since he wished he could experience that particular day.  
He carefully and slowly opened the zipper to his tent to see if he could spot anyone outside. He saw nothing, only darkness. With slow and steady steps, he made his way outside towards the temporary horse stables. He realized that the idea of stealing a 3D Maneuver Gear was too risky, so he dropped it. 

A sigh left Armin’s mouth, while wandering around close to his chosen location and keeping his senses open. What he found troublesome about being a night guard, in comparison to going through the same duty during the day, was the fact it was hassle to keep track of time. 

Only the moon would be there to remind him of the time, as if was mocking him since it did not deliver the answer to how much time passed by, until a weak gradient tone of rosy pink could be seen far away above the mountains of the horizon. A confirmation that dawn was on its way to leave the night behind. The only kind of answer you could receive.  
It was a complex task to estimate, but Armin guessed perhaps he’s been active for approximately one and a half hour, but it was nothing more than a simple guess. 

Night consisted of the lasting serenity, the faint mumbling heard earlier toned down and the sound of rustling trees replaced their talking. Nothing alarming, nothing suspicions so far.  
Despite this, Armin was always ready and prepared to take action to use his weapons he had been given, a 3D Maneuver gear, of course, along with a fully charged gun, in case of emergency. The overall security level was changed to the higher, due to Eren’s and Historias safety, which is why the Garrison solider also handed out a specific gun to him. 

During his time as a guard, Armin reflected over the past day’s events, so long and complicated. He had been so scared he wouldn’t have been able to treat Hanji’s wounds properly, afraid of handling their fate incorrectly. Just in time he made it, he stopped their bleeding. He wondered how they were doing now. His thoughts traveled to his dear friends Jean, Connie and Sasha, and their agony.  
Despite his effort not to dig into it too much, he could not push away his thoughts about Historia and Eren.  
Armin stopped his wandered, and observed his surroundings. A wave of realization hit him, how surrealistic it was. A silence so scarce and fragile he rarely got to experience. Even the horses were quiet in the stables a few meters away from his current position. The silence was almost unnerving, and Armin just could not find the time to relax, not even for a minute.

There had not been any issues for Eren to sneak away from his tent with his backpack hanging steadily on his back. He found the horses, standing and most of them asleep, getting their well-deserved rest after the long ride back to the camp. Despite this, he found a few of the horses were awake, possibly guarding the sleeping ones. He carefully examined them, deciding which one he should pick.  
He knew all the horses were owned by the Survey Corps members, and that he would commit a crime by stealing one of their horses without asking for permission to even borrow one, but he would not get far by foot.  
He had long ago excluded the idea of becoming a titan, he would never ever want to become a titan again as long as he lived, of the little time left of his so called life.

He picked up a saddle that was hanging on the sides, next to the horse cage, a part of it now open. Eren chose a sleeping, chestnut colored horse. The horse was in an uncomfortable situation as it made some discomforting noises, after being awoken. Eren started to prepare a horse for take-off. 

It calmed down as Eren put up the saddle on its back and started to check his last things.  
Eren knew they would search for him yet again once they discovered his absence.  
Just as he was about to get up on the horse, he bit his trembling lip and found himself to be shaking. ‘’I’m so sorry, that it had to end like this…The day the titans are gone, you will understand.’’  
He reached out and gently touched the horse’s freshly cut mane, before getting up and all ready to go.  
Then, in the corner of his eye, he noticed a shadowed figure in the entrance of the stable, making his head turn with wide eyes.


End file.
